May Jobs Report Reveals Uneven Recovery

View how recent job growth compares for each state.

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The U.S. Labor Department released its latest jobs report on Friday, providing updated data on the employment outlook in each state.

Thirty-seven states recorded job gains in May, led by California (+54,200), New York (+42,700) and Texas (+33,200). In 20 states, the monthly increase was large enough to be considered statistically significant. Preliminary estimates also suggest North Dakota (-5,300) and Wisconsin (-8,600) suffered the steepest declines in May payroll employment of any state.

Looking back further, jobs data depicts an economic recovery that remains uneven across the country. Seventeen states have enjoyed over-the-year employment gains exceeding 2 percent. Utah (+3.9 percent) has registered the strongest job growth over the past 12 months, followed by Washington (+3.6 percent) and Florida (+3.4 percent). In 11 other states, over-the-year job gains are far weaker, below 1 percent. West Virginia has lost an estimated 16,600 jobs, with most of the losses occurring in the public sector.

The policy is already law in some states and cities, and has become a talking point for Democratic leaders and presidential candidates. But while it has helped lift some Americans out of poverty, it has cost others their jobs.